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KING, the newest artist heralded by Prince, has announced the release of their debut single to the public titled “In The Meantime,” which is now available across various digital platforms including iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, Rhapsody, Rdio, and iHeartRadio. The song can be accessed via Soundcloud.
The group, who write, produce and perform all of their own original material including “Move Love” from Robert Glasper’s 2013 Grammy Award winning “Black Radio” album, was discovered by Prince on the web after listening to the “The Story EP” online. Inviting them to open for him on his 2011 tour at the Forum as their introduction to the music industry, he has since become a mentor, advisor and financial backer to the girls and has enlisted Kiran Sharma as their manager.

Other KING supporters include Erykah Badu, ?uestlove of the Roots, and Phonte Coleman of The Foreign Exchange, each of whom initially helped start the twitter movement that made their independently released 3 song EP “The Story” a viral success. The group members – twin sisters Paris and Amber Strother and friend Anita Bias began writing and recording together as a group in 2009 after the twins met Anita and discovered a unique yet similar style.
Paris, who produces KING‘s music, says, “everything happened very quickly with the EP release, from opening for Prince to beginning to write and record our full-length album. We are so excited to come out to the world with the new music we’ve been carefully developing. We’re thrilled that Prince has provided us with a platform to do this, and are overjoyed that we were able to produce the new album the way we envisioned it.”
Anita adds, “We make music that we as music fans would like to hear. We share the same tastes, and we appreciate and invest in each other’s ideas. I have learned so much from working with Paris and Amber, and couldn’t fathom the idea of making music with anybody else.”

There was a time when rock band TRASH COWBOYS was oh-so-close to making it, a headliner a generation ago on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood at such famed clubs as the Roxy, the Whisky and Gazzarri’s. Led by wonder-boy guitarist Bradley Rude and Tommy Lee-style drummer Joey Durant, TRASH COWBOYS were at their best on stage, whipping sold-out crowds into a frenzy.

TRASH COWBOYS’ chorus-heavy sing-along songs were fortified with a dose of dirty sleaze that made the foursome a bit more daring than their contemporaries And like most of the success stories before them like Guns N’ Roses, Motley Crue and Van Halen, the TRASH COWBOYS after-parties always got bigger and better until dawn.

If nothing else, TRASH COWBOYS lived up to their name and proved you don’t need a million-dollar recording contract to live like rock stars.

But then it all faded away.

There was no structure, no organization. A manager? Back then, Bradley Rude and Joey Durant were too busy having the time of their lives.

It was the iconic philosopher Henry David Thoreau who said “never look back unless you are planning to go that way,” and as things turned out, Rude and Durant reluctantly grew up, and each established himself in private business with the white-picket-fence and all that — but neither ever lost their passion for the music.

The hard truth was, the duo never shook off the regrets, never found closure in letting go of the great songs, the great musicianship, the great adulation of the band’s thousand or so fans fortunate enough to enjoy the fleeting comet that was TRASH COWBOYS.

It’s been a long time since the Hollywood streets have reclaimed rock and roll, and like a dream come true, TRASH COWBOYS — reformed and regrouped and re-invigorated with a hot-shot new singer named Eric Scott and rock-star-cool bassist Mark One — are taking one last shot at stardom.

This time, TRASH COWBOYS have wisdom and introspection in their corner, the overgrown boys of before having steeled themselves into worthy men. Plus, the years were not wasted, as Rude and Durant kept on practicing and writing and dreaming.

It’s the spring of 2013, and let the world welcome the new TRASH COWBOYS.

The songs will lodge themselves in your brain for days. The passion has reached a boiling point. Every player is primed and ready to take over the world and to give a finger to what popular music has sadly become – a de-evolution of all the things that had once made rock so mighty.

It’s a big job resurrecting big dreams, and TRASH COWBOYS want to bring it all back.

“I can remember being side by side with the Guns N’ Roses guys, passing out flyers on the Strip,” Rude said. “I ended up designing and building aircrafts, and I was very successful but hated every minute of it. I just had no passion for that.”

The great thinker Langston Hughes once said: “Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.”

Joey Durant, who plays drums the way David Lee Roth probably would, knows just what it means to walk away from a dream, however reluctantly. But that does not mean you can’t turn back and start over again.

“I always felt like TRASH COWBOYS should have kept going,” Durant said. “I don’t even know the reasons anymore why we didn’t keep playing. It’s such a fog. But I know the potential for TRASH COWBOYS is outrageously good. I think there is a whole new avenue for us.”

As Durant puts it, everything happens in cycles.

“I walk down the street these days, and kids are wearing Motley Crue t-shirts and Led Zeppelin t-shirts,” Durant said. “I’m like, holy shit, it’s all coming back. The cycle is perfect for us. We’re in a perfect position to start over. We can start a whole new thing 20 years later because the new rock culture is going back to the roots.”

Scott, the god-voiced singer who somehow never made it big, has proved a huge addition. TRASH COWBOYS played a comeback show in January at the Grove in California, and the place went wild for the long-haired singer bursting with charisma. Scott has made the rounds as an up-and-comer metal front man on the East Coast, most notably for Hap Hazzard, and how this man was never scooped up by an arena act remains one of Rock’s great mysteries; once Scott clicked with Trash Cowboys, something magical happened.

TRASH COWBOYS can be the next Guns N’ Roses – the group they were most compared to back in the day – all over again starting now.

“When TRASH COWBOYS sent me the songs, I was really impressed,” Scott said. “This was a once-in-a-lifetime type thing. I couldn’t pass it up. It’s like the rebirth of the old scene. We’re just exploding on the scene. It’s sleaze rock all over again. And without a doubt, this is what the new crowd wants to hear.”

WEST HOLLYWOOD — Crashdiet, Sweden’s answer to Motley Crue, rolls back into town on Friday, March 22, for a concert at the Whisky, and the event figures to be a quite a spectacle in terms of black leather, beautiful girls and, oh yeah, lots of hard-hitting glam rock delivered the old-fashioned way.

The band, led by Mohawked singer Simon Cruz, gets a little bigger every time the foursome returns to America, and this time they’re touring in support of their new CD, Savage Playground.

Martin Sweet plays guitar, Peter London plays bass, and Eric Young plays drums. They’re all good-looking guys with more talent than most of the post-Poison bands back in the day that graduated from the Sunset Strip to MTV.

Crashdiet follows with another show Saturday in San Diego.

Crashdiet plays the Whisky on Friday, March 22

LONDON CALLING

In other rock news, the band London is making a big comeback.

A star attraction on the Sunset Strip a generation ago, the band London was once a breeding ground for rock stardom for some of the early members like Nikki Sixx, Slash, Steven Adler, Izzy Stradlin and Blackie Lawless, but there is now a lot to more to London after a flurry of creativity has breathed new life into the band.

Frontman Nadir D’Priest, the iconic pretty boy heartthrob now all grown up, still has the same star qualities that made London such a buzz band back in the day, and he is singing better than ever — as the world will soon find out upon the release of a live new CD for “London Live,” recorded in Nashville and engineered by the legendary Michael Wagener and produced by Roy Z.

“I knew the record would have to sound big, and it sounds humongous. That’s the best way I can put it,” D’Priest said. “There was a specific sound we needed. It had to sound large or it wouldn’t even be worth doing, and Michael Wagener is great because he’s one of the superstars of producing.”

The band plays Rocklahoma in May in support of Guns N’ Roses and other top acts.

Still in place is guitarist Sean Lewis, who has been in London since 1987, and bassist Brian West, whose London pedigree goes back to 1984. Also, London has pulled a big coup by re-uniting with legendary drummer Alan Krigger, a founding member of Giuffria who joined briefly in 1988 and has also played with Tina Turner, Carl Wilson of the Beach Boys and other superstars.

Shows are at 8:30 and 10 p.m. There is no cover charge. Mambo’s is at 1701 Victory Blvd. in Glendale, and reservations are encouraged at 818-545-8613. Check out Judy’s music on her web site.

As you can tell from her three CDs, Judy is a wonderful singer who loves a good song, whether it be a well-established standard or something of more contemporary vintage. Most of all, she loves jazz and works with some of L.A.’s best players. I think working with a singer brings out a different side of many players, and the craft of supporting a singer while still making an artistic statement as a soloist is really something to watch, especially with the level of players Judy brings with her to these gigs.

If you can’t make this date, or even if you can, Judy has a St. Patrick’s Day brunch performance slated for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, March 17, 2013, at Preston’s in the Loew’s Hollywood Hotel, 1755 N. Highland Ave., Hollywood. Call (323) 491-1040 for information and reservations.

Love, exciting and new … or older and wiser — whatever your romantic situation, it would be hard to do better than a night with L.A.’s hardest-working jazz singer Judy Wexler at what has pretty much become the San Fernando Valley’s go-to jazz club, Lucy’s 51 in Toluca Lake.

Here are the details (which you should be able to see in the image above):

Steven Tyler, left, and Joe Perry of Aerosmith wield scarves, and the power of rock ‘n’ roll, during their Dec. 3, 2012, performance at Staples Center. (Gerry Gittelson/Special to the Daily News)

By Gerry Gittelson, Special to the Daily News

LOS ANGELES — Three months after a triumphant rock concert at the Hollywood Bowl that might have been Aerosmith’s finest moment in the Boston’s band 42-year career, Steven Tyler and Co. were back in the saddle Monday at Staples Center for another sold-out show in the second leg of the Global Warming Tour.

At Staples, Aerosmith continued doing all the great things from the first stop — lots of energy, a fast-paced set featuring a catalogue of old classics, plus some participation from surprise guests — in addition to infusing the set with more of the newer, MTV hits like “Jaded” and “Dude Looks Like A Lady.”

The band is more popular than ever these days, not just from the long string of radio hits and world tours but of course because Mr. Tyler was an American Idol judge for a season. There was a good crowd mix that included a wide demographic but more women than men — plus Kiss’ Gene Simmons milling about.

The lights went down and the place went crazy. Tyler and his co-star, guitarist Joe Perry, did a little walk this way to the middle of the arena via a ramp stretching from center stage, and there they tore their way through “Toys in the Attic,” “Love in an Elevator” and “Jaded.”

Tyler is 64 and Perry is 62, yet they’re both in great shape, and they were dressed in fancy rock-star garb, as Tyler took the stage in a white, floor-length coat with matching pants, hat and sunglasses, and Perry, wearing a black hat, was adorned in a European-style blazer accented by flowing scarves.

Fellow guitarist Brad Whitford, bassist Tom Hamilton and drummer Joey Kramer were giving it all they had, and well-executed hits kept coming with “Livin’ on the Edge,” “Last Child” and “Rag Doll.”

Then, Johnny Depp strapped on a guitar and joined the proceedings — just like at the Bowl show — and Aerosmith soon broke into a rendition of the Beatles’ classic “Come Together,” and everyone in the crowd was standing and pumping their fists and singing along, as the light show kept flashing along while a video projector rolled live footage on a big screen behind them.

These days, you can check online for the set lists of countdown shows, but Aerosmith mixed it up this time — “Mama Kin” is usually first but was held unto the end, and there were a few other surprises — and the pacing was mostly fast and furious, with the obligatory guitar and drum solos not quite as drawn out as last time.

“Walk This Way” was a big favorite with its unforgettable guitar riff and bouncy lyrics. Just copying the words down is fun enough, but when prancing Tyler sings them, it’s just a blast:

Seesaw swingin’ with the boys in the school and your feet flyin’ up in the air/
Singin’ “Hey diddle diddle” with your kitty in the middle of the swing like you didn’t care/

So I took a big chance at the high school dance with a missy who was ready to play/
Wasn’t me she was foolin’ ’cause she knew what she was doin’ and I knowed love was here to stay when she told me to walk this way

In pop music, some things are meant to be, and “Walk This Way” was a hit single waiting to happen.

Aerosmith took a 10-minute break before returning for an encore, coming forth with “Dream On,” as Tyler’s grand piano rose from the trap-door surrounding by clouds of billowing white fog. The eternally young singer with jeweled earrings and feathers in his hair hit all the high notes, amazingly, and Perry got so caught up in the moment that he jumped onto the piano and played along without missing a beat.

Then another surprise. Izzy Stradlin from Guns N’ Roses joined in on guitar for a rousing version of “Mama Kin” to put an exclamation point on the proceedings.

Cheap Trick opened. The Chicago band has been around nearly as long as Aerosmith — singer Robin Zander is 59, and goofball guitarist Rick Nielsen is 63 — but they’ll always have an audience playing their classics like “I Want You to Want Me,” “Dream Police” and, of course, “Surrender” with its catch line “Mama told me, yes she told me, I’d meet girls you.”

Robin Zander of Cheap Trick belts out a tune as bassist Tom Petersson, left, and drummer Daxx Nielsen play along during the group’s set opening for Aerosmith on Dec. 3, 2012, at Staples Center in Los Angeles. (John Harrell/Special to the Daily News)

On this go, the group played a few more obscure songs than usual, and Aerosmith’s Whitford joined in for “Surrender” though no one bothered to mention his name.

The bad part was leaving out “The Flame,” Cheap Trick’s only No. 1 single. They also didn’t play “Don’t Be Cruel,” their second-biggest hit that reached No. 5, along with “Ain’t That a Shame,” ‘Tonight It’s You” and other usual crowd favorites.

I was buying tickets to go see Bruce play as early as 1974, and I always was a fan. In L.A., I would bump into him at the Sunset Marquis hotel, we’d take drives together, talk about music. We kind of had the same sensibility about the power of rock ‘n’ roll music in general, how it was a healing and therapeutic source for the planet. We maintained a friendship. I used to go see him play at the Roxy in L.A., the Bottom Line in New York. I’d go back and say hi and wish him well, he was always a very cool guy. When he made `The River” he sat me down and played me the whole double album just after they’d mixed it. To make a long story short, in 1984 e needed a new guitarist because (Springsteen guitarist) Steve Van Zandt went to go start his solo career. When Bruce needed a guitar player, I was grateful for the opportunity. I got a chance to play with the band for a couple of days and it felt good. It was another historical moment for me, right up there with Neil Young asking me to do “After the Gold Rush’ when I was 18.

So Bruce asked me to join the E Street Band 28 years ago, the same year that Patti (Scialfa) joined as a singer, which we needed. And, hey, I would never have been this greedy, to be able to join the E Street Band and still be playing with them 28 years later, and arguably be doing some of our best shows.

When you’re playing with the E Street band, are their songs that are your favorites to play?

I’m such a fan of Bruce’s writing, I love all his stuff. Certainly some songs are easier to play, and some are much more musically challenging.

Something like “Cadillac Ranch” or “Ramrod,” those are just basic blues-based rock pieces where you just get to roar a bit. The pressure’s off, you just lean into your guitar and play that rough, great pocket rhythm for the whole song. Then, there are more complex things that are wonderful, like “Tunnel Of Love” with its solo and little idiosyncratic parts Bruce put on the record. I play the solo. Wonderful song, but it’s challenging. Sometimes I go through two guitars during the same song, different foot pedals and changes, and I love the song but it’s hard.

That’s the great thing about playing live. Tonight you might have to do a two-minute solo after that song, so be ready. There are times when Bruce just points at you and you gotta be ready to solo.

You couldn’t get away from Psy’s “Gangnam Style,” even if you wanted to. Besides 194,231,101 YouTube views as of this very moment, Psy, this song and that “I’m riding a horse but not really” dance is everywhere all at once.

But look at these videos. He’s better than ever on that old Gibson Byrdland guitar. You may not love his politics, his crossbow skills or longbow skills (or maybe you do; up to you), but the man hasn’t forgotten how to rock.

Combine a spring break weekend, a St. Patrick’s Day celebration, and the final day of a South by Southwest music festival and you can imagine the insanity reigning supreme all over downtown Austin on Saturday.

For this weary listener, operating on an average of four-plus hours of sleep each night, that meant seeking a little shelter from the storm, so to speak, so I made sure my day started at the Broken Spoke dancehall saloon on South Lamar Avenue where local mainstay singer/guitarist Cornell Hurd was presiding over his annual jamboree hoedown, which serves as a friendly reminder that this is still Texas and that you should smile when you say “country music.”Continue reading “Billy Altman at SXSW 2012: Out with a bang” »